


Aesthetic

by strawberryrose



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit (2012) RPF
Genre: Aidan is a limpet, Angst, Body Worship, Cuddling & Snuggling, Even I don't know if Aidan and Dean were supposed to be dating in this, Fluff, Graham is a teddy bear, Grinding, Hand Jobs, Insecurity, Kink Meme, Loud Sex, M/M, Matchmaking, Misunderstandings, Obligatory Movie Night, Oral Sex, Pining, Shovel Talk, Size Kink, Slow Build, Snogging, Uncommunicative Darlings, so much fluff omg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-15
Updated: 2013-03-15
Packaged: 2017-12-05 11:21:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/722709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryrose/pseuds/strawberryrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jed worries, Aidan is a cuddle bunny, Martin is helpful, and Graham and Adam really need to learn to communicate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aesthetic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marlowe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marlowe/gifts).



> Written for this prompt on the Hobbit Kink Meme: http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/4307.html?thread=10649811#t10649811
> 
>  
> 
> _This is probably the tamest prompt I've ever left on a kink meme..._
> 
>  
> 
> _I just want really sweet, adorable Graham kissing Adam all over and telling him how beautiful and gorgeous and hot he is because maybe Adam feels a bit insecure being, admittedly, the scrawniest of the dwarves. And Adam blushing and getting all shy at the attention until he's too overwhelmed to care about being embarrassed._
> 
>  
> 
> Of course, the whole thing got completely away from me, in case the tags list wasn't an indication! ~~And also I can't write anything longer than a drabble and not have it turn into a flangst salad. Yeah.~~ Love love, everyone! ♥

Looking back on it, Graham thought that it had all begun the first time he'd touched Adam. It had been just a couple of days into Dwarf Camp, and Adam had said something so utterly endearing that Graham had found no other response than to draw the younger man into a jovial hug. Adam had reciprocated only tentatively, but the surprised and delighted expression on his face when Graham pulled away had been all the encouragement Graham needed to repeat the action frequently. Soon Adam's uncertain hands and astonished expressions had turned into exuberant embraces and dazzling grins, and Graham found himself hooked.

It was a somewhat hazardous position, Graham thought, to be attracted to a co-star two decades his junior. Once it became clear to him what was happening, Graham had initially attempted to redirect his focus. He'd tried burying himself in his character, as Richard tended to do; he'd feigned a cold in order to distance himself from Adam without hurting his feelings; he'd even tried, in desperation, to forcibly shift his attentions to someone slightly less inappropriate (it wasn't as though Richard or Martin or James weren't appealing, but none of them proved capable of seizing his fancy).

Ultimately, it had turned out that it was rather difficult to ignore Adam, and not just because he spent half his waking moments with the man. Adam was sweet and nervous and just a bit shy, with eyes that sparkled with mischief. He was malleable enough to get swept along in Aidan or James' wake more often than not, but savvy enough to understand what in the hell Jed was talking about half the time. He was also more than willing to be clownish - at the expense of his own dignity - in order to cheer up his friends. He was, simply put, charming.

When a couple months of denial and internal struggle had begun to look, in retrospect, like a couple months of unmitigated pining, Graham had given himself a stern talking-to and resolved to enjoy Adam while he still had the chance. And if Adam had responded to his increased presence like a flower responds to the sun, he just took it as a sign that this was the way he should have been doing things all along.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this drunk before."

The words seemed incongruous with the conversation Graham had been half listening to through the fog of his thoughts, and he jerked his head up from where he'd been staring into his beer. He did not appear to be the one being addressed, however. Across the table, Martin had his chin propped on one fist and was regarding Richard critically.

Richard's eyes were very bright and his face was pink as he returned Martin's gaze with a surprised one of his own. Martin was right, Graham quickly realized as he took in the funny tilt of Richard's shoulders and the honest play of emotions across his usually reserved features.

It was a Saturday evening - well, Sunday by now, really - and the entire Company had gone out for a 'we don't have work tomorrow' round of drinks at the local bar that had quickly become their favourite. That had been hours ago, though, and hours even past the time the last of their young stragglers usually staggered on home. Their numbers had dwindled by nearly half, and those who remained were altogether the worse for wear.

Graham's eyes ranged down the table from where Martin was posing some question to Richard in a low, conspiratorial tone. A bit beyond them, the rest of the remaining group sat all bunched together - Adam sandwiched between Dean and Aidan on one side of the table, Jed on the opposite, and James on the end. Graham offhandedly wondered exactly how many of the truly impressive collection of empties - and shot glasses, now that he was looking - crowding their end of the table belonged to just those five.

Aidan, who looked about fit to topple off his chair if he quit leaning on the table, was regaling them with some highly animated story that Graham had missed the beginning of but which had the rest of the group laughing themselves almost to tears. Graham's focus slid over to Adam without much delay. The younger man was grinning like he had a mission to split his own face in two, red-faced as his laughter devolved into something more like breathless hiccoughs. Dean gave him a few hearty thumps on the back which initially seemed to get Adam back under control, but when their eyes met both burst into laughter anew. Adam buried as much of his face in his hands as he could manage around his spectacles as his whole small frame shook in mirth.

"Christ, Aid," Jed gasped out somewhat hoarsely, "How do you even- how is that even physically _possible_?" Aidan just threw back his head and laughed.

When Adam finally lifted his head from his hands and opened his eyes, his gaze landed on Graham. Graham's stomach pulled a massive flip-flop as Adam's grin grew wider and he made a gesture inviting Graham down to that end of the table. Graham sent a cursory glance at Richard and Martin - Martin seemed to be grilling Richard for some type of information in his alcohol-induced state of candidness, and Graham wasn't terribly keen to stop him (Richard had been the one to choose to get drunk with Martin, after all) - before scooting a few seats down until he ended up beside Jed and across from Adam.

The gathering didn't last much longer from that point, but in that short span Graham was fairly certain he'd been caught staring by Adam more times than in the previous whole month. Adam's eyes widened every time, as if he was surprised anew at each instance, although Graham had begun to feel embarrassed by his apparent inability to control the wandering of his gaze. Then Aidan tried to sit back in his chair and was only saved from lurching unceremoniously onto the floor by James' surprisingly quick reflexes.

"All right, lad. Looks like you're done for the night."

It was a real sign of just how drunk Aidan was that he didn't protest the assessment, instead only nodding with an expression on his face that made Graham think the younger man's vision was probably spinning. Dean shook his head and stood, seeming only the slightest bit unsteady.

"Come on, Aid. I'll get you back home in one piece." He slipped his jacket on and then moved around behind his friend, taking over from where James was still keeping Aidan upright.

"You fared admirably, Turner," James said with a cheeky grin. Dean, who was attempting to wrestle Aidan into his hoodie, snorted at that. " _You_ , though," James turned to Adam then, "I'm impressed, pipsqueak."

Adam laughed. "You shouldn't be. 'M gonna be a fucking wreck tomorrow." His words all came out in a barely-intelligible slurred mush.

"Oh, of course! But you just drank an Irishman under the table. A larger Irishman, at that. I'll have to remember not to underestimate you!"

"He didn't drink me under the table," Aidan protested with a whine.

"Of course he didn't," Dean offered indulgently, then dragged Aidan to his feet. Aidan immediately draped himself all over Dean's stocky frame and buried his nose in Dean's hair with a slightly obscene moan. As the others chuckled, Dean took a firm hold of Aidan and manoeuvred him in the direction of the door. "All right, see you folks later." Goodbyes were called, and as Dean turned the two of them away, Graham could hear him mutter, "If you need to puke on the way back, warn me. I don't want to be washing your vomit out of my hair at this hour."

A quiet moment passed, then Adam made a sound halfway between a sigh and a laugh, raking a hand through his hair absently and making it stand on end. "Afraid I'm not getting anywhere without help, either." Adam's other hand was resting on the table, and Graham quickly reached over to cover it with his own before he'd had a chance to think twice.

"I'll take you back." The words were spilling out as he was thinking them up, and his heart was pounding like he was a schoolboy asking someone out for the first time. "If you're ready."

Adam's smile was warm and grateful, and there was a hint of something there - an eagerness that Graham couldn't quite place. "I'm ready."

Adam got to his feet in a surprisingly smooth motion, but then swayed dangerously. Everyone within reach instantly grabbed to steady him, and Adam blushed quite spectacularly.

"Thanks."

Graham stood and moved toward the exit as James took Adam by the shoulders and carefully guided him around the table. When they met, Adam looked up into Graham's face with such a gorgeous expression - a strange but understandable mix of pride and embarrassment - that Graham (not entirely sober himself) just smiled back down at him for a long moment.

"Here you go," James finally said, snapping Graham out of his reverie, "One dwarfling, complete with knitwear."

"My favourite kind of dwarfling," Graham replied without thinking, then tried to will his face not to heat when James barked a laugh and Adam's mouth fell slightly open. Putting his mortification aside, Graham gently wrapped a steadying arm around Adam's back, which shot electric sensations up his arm and into his chest.

James released Adam when he seemed certain that the smaller man would remain upright in his absence and grinned at them both, his expression just a bit too keen for Graham's comfort. "You take good care of him, now."

Graham smiled back - alcohol easing what he was sure would have otherwise been an awkward, stiff gesture considering the circumstances - and pulled Adam close. "You lot take care on your way back, too."

Adam waved a sweet little goodbye to the three left at the table, his other hand finding its way around Graham's waist. Graham tried very hard to ignore the knowing look on James' face when Adam let his head loll against Graham's shoulder.

Then in no time at all they were out the door and carefully making their way down the sidewalk.

The walk back to the studio lot and their trailers was only three and a half blocks, but it was slow going. It was at about the midway point that Graham began to be both glad and regretful of his rather hasty decision. Glad because Adam's flushed, panting little form clinging to his side was something he didn't want to give up to any of the others; regretful because he was only just managing to stave off an erection with constant reminders that even _if_ Adam happened to be interested in him, the poor lad was obviously much too drunk to consent to anything.

That they reached Adam's trailer without even the slightest mishap was, so far as Graham was concerned, nothing short of a small miracle. When they stopped at the base of the metal steps, Adam abruptly cut off the ebullient rambling he'd engaged in for most of the walk. He gave a small laugh as he turned to face Graham. Then, steadying himself against Graham's chest, he looked up with the most spectacular inviting expression Graham had ever seen: eyelids heavy, cheeks flushed, lips parted just slightly.

For just a moment, it completely took Graham's breath away. Unthinkingly, he began to lean down. The sight of Adam craning up to meet him slammed him back to reality and he froze in place.

Fuck. He was in trouble.

Adam was drunk, he reminded himself. Drunk. Pissed. Plastered. Sloshed. _Arseholed_. Adam was not entirely in control of his faculties, and Graham was _in absolutely no way_ going to take advantage of the situation. Graham took a deep breath and, trying to ignore the heat of Adam's body searing into him, resolutely thought of the most un-sexy things he could possibly summon: centipedes, throwing up, autopsy scenes from crime dramas - ah, that did it. He pulled back slightly and smiled down at Adam, allowing a little worry to leak into his expression.

"You going to be all right?"

The flash of hurt on Adam's face before he settled on a carefree grin was so brief that Graham honestly wasn't sure if he imagined it or not.

"I'll be fine," Adam replied brightly. He paused, and though the silence was heavy, neither of them moved. "I… thank you." Adam's tone was quieter, and a little bit clipped even around the drunkenness. "For bringing me home."

"Any time."

As Graham began to open his arms for a proper hug, as he always did when he and Adam parted, Adam suddenly found his balance and turned away to face the door of his trailer.

"Good night," he said firmly. Then, without waiting for a response, he ascended the metal steps and disappeared inside. Graham was left standing outside with half-raised arms and the distinct sensation of a knife in his chest.

"Good night." The words came out as barely a whisper.

  
\---  


Graham didn't see Adam all the next day, not that he'd really expected any differently - it was a day off for them, and he highly suspected that Adam was suffering from a miserable hangover. He considered going over at about one in the afternoon to make sure Adam had everything he needed - not that he wasn't an adult who could care for himself - but as he was staring out one of his trailer's windows indecisively, he caught sight of Jed apparently going to do the same thing, and let the idea go.

Adam was still subdued on Monday, and Graham had to wonder if getting so drunk had opened the way for a small cold or other minor ailment to take hold. Graham spent the day with one eye on Adam. The younger man kept to himself between takes, politely refusing company but for Jed's, who sat with him in commiserative silence.

Tuesday was a mess. With such a talented cast, it didn't happen very often, but it was just one of those rare days where everybody was bloody awful. Adam was still a bit listless; Aidan and Jed both seemed distracted by that (as was Graham, if he was being honest with himself). Richard was flawless, of course, but had retreated so far into Thorin's character that he was impossible to talk to. Martin, of all people, couldn't seem to keep his head in the game.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Graham froze. Peter had called a ten-minute break in order to let everyone pull themselves together after their latest disastrous attempt at a take, and Graham had immediately planted himself on the floor of the studio with his script. Incidentally, his resting place was barely a metre from one of the exits, through which Adam had been attempting to leave before Aidan had waylaid him with a few gentle words. Graham didn't dare move, and instead kept his head bowed over his script as if in deep concentration.

There was a long enough silence that Graham would have thought the two younger men had moved on if he hadn't been able to just barely see their boots in his peripheral vision.

"Nothing."

"Adam…"

"No, just- It's nothing, I'm being stupid. I just-" There was a second pause. Graham didn't have any trouble holding still; the self-depreciating tone in Adam's voice made him feel like there was cement in his veins. "I just need to be stupid for a little bit longer, okay? I'll be back to normal soon."

Judging from the way his feet moved, Graham assumed that Aidan caught Adam up in a hug. There was a bit of indistinct murmuring that Graham couldn't quite make out, and then the two disappeared out of his field of vision. Graham let his head droop over his script and wished desperately that he knew what, exactly, had happened.

The rest of the day didn't go any better.

On Wednesday, Martin seemed determined to improve on the previous day's failures. He spent the time between takes flitting about, catching various cast members in vigorous little conversations and conspiring with James, all the while with an almost frighteningly intense look on his face. At lunch, somewhat incredibly, he sat down right across from Richard, snapped his fingers in the other man's face, and demanded to speak with him,

"-like fucking _adults_ , thanks. No characters - I'm here to talk with _Richard_."

Adam, Graham noticed, managed to make himself so scarce as to be almost entirely absent. He was only to be found immediately before takes, and then he was always in Ori's timid stance.

It was nearly the end of the day when Martin loomed up in front of where Graham was seated while they all waited for the crew to fix a problem with one of the hanging lights. Ken, who was sitting beside Graham, took one look at Martin's crossed arms and vehement expression and bolted with a glance that clearly said he wasn't as sorry as he ought to be.

"So, what happened?"

Graham sighed. "I really wish I knew."

Martin gave a frustrated grunt and took Ken's abandoned spot, his expression softening. "Hit me with what you've got anyway."

Graham hesitated, uncertain just how much he really wanted to reveal - so far as he could tell he'd managed to distress Adam by almost kissing him, but didn't know if it was because Adam wasn't interested in him and couldn't face him now, or if it was because he'd done it when Adam was drunk, or some combination of the two.

Martin rolled his eyes and scowled. "Come on, I've seen you watching all day. You're not exactly subtle, you know."

"He's upset. Most likely because of me." The words stung as Graham said them aloud. "Don't know for certain, he's been…"

"Hard to come by?"

Martin's tone was dry, and Graham huffed, smirking.

"I suppose that means you couldn't tell me where he's been disappearing to all day?"

"If anybody could, it's Jed or Aidan."

Martin opened his mouth to say something, then stopped short. "Aidan?"

"Adam was talking to him yesterday, right after that take where you - ah - fell on your face."

Martin gave a small cough that Graham thought was probably what passed as embarrassment from him. "That would be why I didn't notice. Ha! That little fucker was holding out on me! He's going to need some-" He did some little martial arts move Graham had seen him teasing the boys (particularly Lee) with before.

Graham shook his head, curiosity seizing him. "What are you doing?"

"Kung fu," Martin deadpanned.

"No. What-" he motioned vaguely out into the studio and their various friends milling about there, "-are you doing?"

Martin twisted to look at him more fully, a surprising grin on his face. "I'm helping."

"…Why?"

"Well, funny story, I woke up on Monday and this entire cast had gone and twisted itself into knots." His grin morphed into a smirk. "If you're wondering why I give a fuck, it's because I'd actually like this movie to turn out well, thanks, which isn't going to be happening if things stay the way they've been this week. Also, the sexual tension around here is becoming detrimental to everyone's sanity - my own included." Graham's face burned. "Now, do you have any more relevant information?"

Graham told Martin all he knew, and when the other man finally left (to clobber Aidan, or so he claimed), Graham was surprised to find that his chest wasn't nearly so heavy as it had been before. When he heard Aidan's yelp several minutes later, he grinned.

Friday evening, as Graham was enjoying a hastily-prepared dinner in front of the telly, it suddenly hit him that Adam hadn't accepted a hug from him all week.

  
\---  


Monday morning, Adam sat down next to Graham at breakfast, shamefaced. Graham's brain locked up as a cascade of conflicting emotions crashed over him, and he found himself unable to form even a simple greeting for the one person he'd been aching to talk to for the last eight days.

"I'm sorry," Adam said quietly, tracing the ring of moisture left behind by Richard's cup of orange juice just minutes earlier. He kept his head bowed. "For being such an arse all week."

Graham turned a warm smile on Adam that went entirely unseen as his fears (particularly the one that said he'd managed to ruin his friendship with Adam not even halfway through shooting) crumbled away and relief shone through. "That's all right," he reassured Adam, who still looked downcast. "It happens."

Adam nodded slightly. Graham wanted to reach over and place a comforting hand on Adam's back, but he could feel the tension in the smaller man's posture from where he was sitting, so he settled instead for offering, 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Adam replied quietly.

"Right," Graham said, careful to keep all hints of disappointment out of his voice. "If you ever need anything, you know I'm right here." Then, remembering that he was almost certainly the problem in the first place, he quickly finished off with, "So is everyone else."

That actually got a little smile out of Adam. "I know. Jed's listened to me whine a lot this week."

Graham felt one corner of his mouth twitch upward, and he chuckled quietly. Then quite suddenly Adam sucked in a deep breath and stood. His eyes were too bright as he finally looked at Graham, and Graham's heart leapt into his throat.

"Thanks," Adam said, voice cheerful, "For understanding." Adam didn't wait for a reply and turned to go. Graham stood quickly.

"Adam." The name came out a bit less calmly than he meant for it to. When Adam turned back, Graham opened his arms wordlessly.

Adam impacted his chest with enough force that Graham was glad for the firm stance he'd learned in Dwarf Camp. Graham wrapped his arms firmly around Adam's back and shoulders as Adam's hands fisted in the back of Graham's shirt. Graham, perhaps against his best judgement, dropped a kiss into Adam's hair. Adam only clung more tightly.

"It's okay, lad," Graham murmured.

"I'm sorry. I mean, I- thank you," Adam babbled, his breath hot against Graham's neck. Graham was relieved to hear that though Adam's tone was wrung out, there was no trace of tears.

Chest burning with unexpressed emotion, Graham held on until a very apologetic-looking gofer appeared to tell them Adam was needed in makeup. After thanking the gofer with a blush, Adam left with a grateful, honest smile that stuck with Graham all day.

  
\---  


Things seemed to return almost to normal after that, and the effect was quite apparent - much of the cast and crew seemed to have had a weight lifted from them as Adam returned to his usual endearing, energetic self. Still, Adam never discussed with Graham the events of that week, and he began to notice that at odd moments he was catching Adam with a strange expression on his face and his eyes trained on Graham.

"You realize you're being daft about this, right?" Graham overheard Aidan whisper to Adam between takes one day. "You're totally cute."

Adam huffed. "Could you just- not."

Graham glanced at the pair and received a sunny grin from Adam that drove both the exchange and Aidan's frown from his mind.

  
\---  


It was more than a week later when, during the informal gathering that often occurred just as everyone was finishing up in makeup, James came up behind Graham and slung an arm around his shoulders.

"We're catching a movie or two at Jed's tonight. You in?"

Turning his attention from the conversation he'd been having with Stephen and John, Graham grinned at James in the particularly lopsided way that always earned him extra-bright eye twinkles from the other man.

"A movie sounds good."

James thumped his shoulder just firmly enough that a touch of suspicion prickled at the edge of Graham's consciousness. "I thought you'd be up for it."

Stephen agreed to come along and John bowed out, and Graham's attention trailed after James as he moved on. He went to Richard next, stopping him before he could disappear out the door. The look Richard fixed James with was still halfway between Thorin's scowl and his own cautious shyness. Graham frowned slightly. Nothing odd there - then why did he feel as though something funny was going on?

Jed was talking with Mark and Sir Ian, ostensibly inviting them as well. Martin - now, that was more peculiar. Martin had approached Aidan, Dean, Lee, and Orlando, and was speaking animatedly, moving his hands as if explaining a sports play or complicated stage directions. Graham couldn't see Dean or Orlando's faces from his angle, but Lee's expression was rapt, and Aidan looked absolutely devilish.

Dean and Aidan broke away from the group abruptly and swept across the room to catch Adam as he emerged from makeup, each linking an arm with one of his and looking more like Fíli and Kíli than themselves. Adam's squeak and subsequent laughter filled Graham's chest with warmth. So he didn't know what was _really_ going on (he noticed that Martin had left Lee and Orlando behind to join James and Richard well before the trio made it back); his friends were happy again and a movie really did sound good - he'd just have to try to roll with the punches more skillfully this time around.

  
\---  


As soon as Graham settled on Jed's sectional with one of the bowls of communal popcorn, he found himself besieged by the band of the cast's youngest. Aidan immediately flopped down beside Graham with no more than a simple greeting and a cheeky grin, pulling a startled Dean down with him and snuggling into Graham's side like an over-affectionate kitten. Meanwhile, Lee directed a genuinely sweet, apologetic smile at Graham as he took Adam by the shoulders and manoeuvred him down by Graham's other side, immediately afterward taking the other spot next to Adam. Orlando picked the spot on the floor right in front of Adam - Adam drew his legs up under himself and his whole body ended up angled slightly toward Graham - and then twisted in place to grab a handful of popcorn and grin up at them. Graham laughed and threw an arm each around Aidan and Adam's shoulders, eliciting a delighted giggle and a surprised squeak respectively.

"So this is how it is," Graham said as he ruffled Aidan's curls. "I'm everyone's personal pillow, now?"

Aidan seemed ready to open his mouth and reply with his own brand of mild snark, but then Graham scratched his short fingernails against Aidan's scalp and the younger man's giggle changed to something more like a purr, his back arching appreciatively. Dean had to stretch and twist his neck to see what was going on, trapped as he was by Aidan's arms with his back to Aidan's chest. The expression on Dean's face landed halfway between bemused and unimpressed, and Graham - figuring that he couldn't be in the most comfortable position in the world - gave Aidan's scalp one last scritch and let the young Irishman resettle against his side.

The expression on Adam's face as Graham turned his gaze back in his direction was nothing short of goddamn intriguing.

"Jealous, lad?" Graham asked teasingly, knowing that his grin was wolfish. 

Adam's eyes turned up from Aidan to Graham, and Graham would have sworn he could actually see Adam's pupils dilate just before he buried his hand in short brown locks and tousled. Adam squeezed his eyes shut and laughed, the other four younglings joining in. Adam's face was beet red when Graham pulled his hand back, his hair sticking every which way.

When Richard appeared from the direction of the kitchen a few moments later, he laughed silently at Graham's predicament, and Graham knew he didn't quite manage a nettled expression in response, especially as his right arm found Adam's waist. Martin (carrying another popcorn bowl) trailed just behind Richard, and Graham couldn't quite tell if Richard chose to sit next to Lee in the corner of the sectional or if Martin was guiding him.

Either way, Lee's whole focus shifted away from Graham and his little group and he directed a look of such open affection at Richard that Graham felt his own heart twist in sympathy. Graham counted Richard as a good friend, but between his shyness and method acting he was quite hard to read, and Graham was legitimately not sure whether Lee was aiming to get his heart broken.

Lee leaned in close to Richard and murmured something that made Richard's face colour. Then Richard looked up through his lashes and said something in reply that made Lee blush as well.

The last of the group had begun slowly filtering in by then, choosing places on the remaining chairs and floor. Graham couldn't quite help but notice the unusually sharp look Jed directed at him, which was much closer to big brother Nori than his usual mien. Unexpected though it may have been, Graham figured he rather deserved it.

The movie turned out to be some half-decent horror flick Graham had never heard of before. Aidan and Dean immediately started up a humorous commentary that Graham could only make out bits of, considering that Dean's position in Aidan's lap meant the two could whisper right into each others' ears.

In the midst of the first big scare scene, Adam shifted from being beside Graham to being outright curled into his side - left leg pressed against Graham's right, head pillowed on Graham's chest, hands curled tightly atop Graham's thigh. When the scene passed, Adam seemed to come back to himself and lifted his head to look at Graham, face visibly pink even in the low light.

"Ah, sorry. Is this too much?"

Graham wanted nothing more in that moment than to duck his head and kiss the uncertainty right off of Adam's face. He was fairly certain, though, that that would be too much.

"Of course not," he replied instead, wrapping his arm just a bit more tightly around Adam's waist. Adam broke into a shy smile that could have rivaled even Richard's mousiest expressions, then nestled back against Graham.

Later, when glancing away from a particularly gory moment, Graham noticed something that got him staring, heedless of propriety. Lee was cuddled up into Richard's side, and Richard's arm was wrapped around Lee's shoulders. That Richard was engaged in prolonged physical contact with someone was unexpected enough, not to mention that he seemed relaxed about it - a soft smile was playing about his lips, and his head was tilted just slightly in Lee's direction. That, however, was not the half of it.

Graham's eyes flicked from Lee to Adam and back again. Lee and Adam were nearly mirror-images of each other; each curled up closely to the man next to him, whole body pointed in that direction, hands on his cuddle partner, legs below the knee trailing carelessly across the sofa and inches from tangling with his mirror's.

It seemed strange that such a small detail struck him so profoundly, but Graham could hear the blood rushing in his ears. Lee was smitten with Richard, Graham had been sure of it for months. But Adam?

Everything was snapping into place like a jigsaw puzzle he'd only just discovered he'd been doing: the unusually bright smiles that were never directed at anyone but him, the little encouragements and innuendoes he'd thought he was just misinterpreting, the sadness - dear god, the sheer _melancholy_ after that night. (Could it have been it been that other way around instead? His intention had been to exercise basic decency and not take advantage of Adam's inebriated state to steal a kiss off of his friend, who surely wouldn't have wanted it otherwise. But looking at it another way, he could see how it might have looked like a rejection - or worse, a mockery. He'd leaned in, hesitated, and leaned back out again. Pretty straightforward, really.)

Had he been blind to it all because he was afraid? Because he wanted it too much? It wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened to him - he recalled when he was still a teen and a friend he'd been a bit in love with made a mix tape for him. He'd taken it home and stopped listening to it after the second song, because he was afraid he was already reading too much into it. Several years later, he'd found the tape again and listened to the rest of it out of curiosity, only to discover a dozen love ballads that didn't leave much to the imagination. He'd moved on from that love decades ago, but even now he couldn't help but feel the slightest pang of wistfulness over what could have been.

A scream on the movie - which Graham had bloody well forgotten about - made Adam twitch in his hold. Graham reacted instinctively, his mind still occupied with the maelstrom of emotions this new possibility had stirred to the surface. He gathered Adam just a bit more closely, and where his hand had landed on one denim-covered thigh during one of the younger man's earlier jolts at the movie, he began to rub his thumb back and forth in a soothing, absent manner.

Adam's reaction was immediate; a little shiver passed through his whole body. Graham quickly realized what he was doing and, his hand giving a little twitch, he stilled the motion and looked back to the television.

A few moments passed.

Then Adam slowly unfurled one hand, still resting atop Graham's leg as it had been for some time, and began to rub back and forth with his thumb. Graham was sure his face was as red as a tomato, although it didn't really matter as no one was looking. He swallowed, carefully regulating his breaths, and began to rub back. Adam let out a fluttering breath and kept his thumb moving.

They stayed like that for several minutes, trading the smallest of touches as the movie played on. Graham switched to making small circles with his index finger. Adam stretched out his hand to its full length and stroked gently as he relaxed it again. Graham used all four fingertips to scratch in soft ovals.

At that, Graham noticed that Adam had begun to throw off waves of heat. Graham was fairly certain that his own heart was beating so hard that Aidan - still leaning on his left side - could probably feel the pounding. Several seconds later, Adam shifted subtly, sinking more deeply into Graham's side. The movement exposed the underside of his thigh, and Graham's hand slipped there naturally, giving a small squeeze. That drew a sound like a strangled gasp out of Adam, and Graham looked down - he could feel Aidan's head turn as well. Adam was staring resolutely at the television, face blazing red, bottom lip drawn between his teeth, breaths quick. Graham also noted that in his shifting Adam's free hand had landed in a very strategic location, hiding a key bit of anatomy from prying eyes.

Graham ducked his head to whisper right into Adam's ear. "All right, there?"

"Yes," Adam replied in a sort of breathless wheeze, fidgeting somewhat. He attempted to clear his throat quietly, glanced at Graham's face, and tried again. "Yeah, I just-" He cut off as his continued squirming suddenly caught Graham's hand and dragged it quite a bit lower than Graham had really intended to let it go. Adam aborted the sentence entirely and pushed to the edge of the sofa, nudging Orlando. "Budge up, I need to go to the restroom," he ordered in a hoarse whisper.

Orlando did in fact hastily budge up, and Adam quickly exited the room, a very noticeable hitch in his stride. Jed's eyes followed him as he went, anxiety seeping into his expression. Then, without Graham even having seen his movements, Orlando was suddenly across the room and seated by Jed's legs, having a whispered conversation with him. The unease drained back off of Jed's face as they talked, and Graham felt some relief as well. Jed was a good friend; Graham didn't wish to cause him any stress.

It struck Graham at that moment just how skillfully organized the whole night had been: James invited him to the gathering, Aidan and Dean had ensured Adam's presence, Aidan had cuddled into Graham's side (to put Adam at ease to do so himself?), Lee and Orlando had surrounded Adam to block him in beside Graham, Orlando was at that very moment reassuring Jed, and Graham was fairly certain that Martin had orchestrated the entire thing. _A third of the bloody cast was trying to matchmake them._

Christ.

When Adam returned from the restroom several minutes later, he flopped back down onto the sofa and threw a slightly embarrassed grin at Graham. Then they both froze. Adam's leg tucked under his rump had minimized the height difference which was usually present even when seated, and suddenly their faces were very close together. Graham's breath failed him as Adam drifted forward slowly, eyes searching Graham's face.

A massive, bloodcurdling scream from the television shattered the moment. The surprise in Adam's eyes turned to humour in the course of a bare few seconds, and quickly the both of them were struggling to keep their laughter quiet. It wasn't such a successful venture, and beyond Adam, Graham could see both Richard and Lee turn curious gazes in their direction.

"Let's work this out _after_ the movie," Graham suggested in a whisper still broken by chuckling.

"Good plan," Adam replied. Then with a smile he settled back against Graham's side, Graham wrapped an arm around his waist, and they returned to watching the movie they'd both completely lost track of.

  
\---  


After the movie ended, Graham and Adam left in the initial post-movie exodus that always occurred at such gatherings. It wasn't long before they found themselves once again standing outside of Adam's trailer.

When Adam looked up at Graham, it was with much clearer eyes than the last time, but also more anxiety. Eyes not leaving Adam's face for a moment, Graham reached his left hand up and cupped Adam's cheek gently. Wonder bubbled up in Adam's eyes as Graham brushed his fingertips over soft skin and traced his thumb along Adam's cheekbone. It wasn't until Graham's hand had slipped all the way past Adam's jaw to land on his neck beneath his ear, fingers stroking short brown hair, that Graham was able to find his voice.

"May I kiss you?" The question came out more bluntly than Graham really meant for it to, but it would work. Graham could feel the muscles in Adam's neck shift as he gave a small nod, eyes wide, and stretched up just a bit. Graham leaned down, hesitated briefly - terrified - at the last moment, then pressed their lips together.

It was average fare so far as first kisses were concerned: simple and unsure, but warm and slow. Adam's hands lightly grasped the front of Graham's shirt, and Graham's left hand slid around to fully cup the back of Adam's neck while the other found its way to the small of Adam's back. When they parted, the entirely moonstruck expression in those brown eyes took Graham by surprise (even though he was fairly certain he looked the same way), and the reservoir of his emotions - which had been brimming since their almost-kiss at Jed's - spilled over. He closed his eyes as he drew their foreheads together.

" _Adam_ ," he murmured, a grin spreading across his face.

The little sound Adam made in response was more squeak than word, and he slid his arms up around Graham's neck to pull him in for another kiss. This one was bolder than the first, an exciting hint of urgency in the movements and a little wet. Graham's hand spread out on Adam's back, and Adam melted against Graham's chest with a small sigh that Graham felt more than heard.

They were both breathing a bit more heavily when they parted again, and Adam's eyes took a few moments to flutter open. Just taking a moment to drink in the expressions on Adam's face, Graham stroked small circles into the back of Adam's neck until the younger man's eyes rolled up and he gave in to a full-body shiver. Graham felt like there was fire in his veins, and with his other hand he swept lower across Adam's back until his fingertips were tracing the strip of skin that had been exposed when Adam lifted his arms to wrap them around Graham's neck.

"You are so gorgeous," he rumbled.

Then very suddenly, Adam stilled in his arms. The beginning of a cold panic blooming in his chest, Graham relocated his hand to be touching only knitted jumper even before Adam opened his eyes.

"God, sorry," he whispered, trying and failing to interpret the look on Adam's face. "I shouldn't have." He had to admit to himself that he was a little afraid, just then, to try rubbing soothing circles into Adam's back, even though it was his first instinct. "You all right?" he settled for asking instead.

"I- yeah," Adam replied.

Graham nodded and swallowed, trying to gather his thoughts from where they'd scattered to. "So, easy does it, then?"

Whatever emotion had been in Adam's eyes vanished at that, replaced by something that looked like dawning comprehension. "So… we go slowly?"

Graham was sure that he didn't manage to make his small smile entirely devoid of nervousness, but the thread of tension in Adam's body was dissolving, and that gave him a fairly great measure of relief.

"As slowly as you like," he replied, tone equal parts warm and gentle.

Adam smiled, almost relaxed, and leaned back in for another kiss.

  
\---  


The next day, all of Adam's worries seemed to have leaked away and he was perhaps the most effervescent Graham had ever seen him. His usual greeting hug was almost more like a tackle, and the soft brush of lips across Graham's cheek as they pulled apart was enough to make his heart leap like a schoolboy with his first crush.

They did go slowly, too. There was a great deal of kissing in the evenings in one or the other of their trailers and when they weren't needed on set. The first time they kissed in costume was a challenge, what with their fake beards tangling and prosthetics making it hard to move the ways they wanted to, and they ended up doing more laughing than kissing.

In between filming and snogging and going out with the others they managed to catch moments to just be together - to sit and talk over coffee, to cuddle while watching television, to just enjoy each others' company while going over the script.

  
\---  


When Graham found an opportunity to apologize properly for making a move without Adam's permission, Adam flushed but laughed.

"It's- no, it's fine," he assured Graham. "It's certainly no worse than I get when James is teasing me, or when Aidan falls asleep on me."

Graham laughed at that last. He himself hadn't always been entirely sure that Aidan didn't occasionally play up his reputation for napping on people in order to cop a feel.

"It's just-" Adam cut himself off and scratched just next to his eye as he tended to do when embarrassed. "It's different with you."

A strong warmth bloomed in Graham's chest at that, and if he had any lingering doubts they were soon assuaged when Adam scooted over next to him on the sofa and initiated not only some rather involved snogging, but a bit of light petting as well.

  
\---  


Just short of a week in, Jed pulled Graham to the side just after filming had ended for the day. Both were still in costume. It was usually Richard (and sometimes Mark) who Graham had a hard time telling if he was in character or not, but as Jed leveled him with an unyielding stare, Graham found himself caught flat-footed.

"So, I hear you've gotten together with Adam." Graham found the impreciseness of 'gotten together with' to be interesting, and he wondered if it was Adam's phrasing.

"I have," he replied, softening his unexpected surge of boldness with a layer of warmth. Jed didn't shift an inch.

"Ads is my little bro, so you will not intentionally do anything to hurt him."

Graham could hardly believe he was getting this speech from a castmate, but he nodded along all the same. The threat was left entirely unspoken, and though Graham wasn't terribly surprised it was there in the first place - especially considering how Adam apparently confided in Jed after their earlier misunderstanding - he did find himself very grateful that the dwarves were close enough that they seemed to have moved beyond truly overt displays of hostility.

"I wouldn't think of it," Graham replied honestly.

Jed studied his face for a long moment, then broke into a grin and clapped him on the shoulder with a nod, striking up a high-spirited, companionable conversation as they headed toward makeup to be de-dwarfed.

  
\---  


A few days later, Adam looked across the breakfast table at Graham with a strange, slightly amused expression on his face and revealed that Richard had given him the gentlest, most sheepish rendition of the 'hurt him and I'll break your legs' speech that he'd ever even imagined possible. Adam paused at the end of the story as Graham tried to get a handle on his chortling.

"I've been getting the impression that we're… less subtle than we think we are," Adam said with wryness in his smile. "I mean, if even method-acting-as-Thorin, can't-keep-his-eyes-off-Lee-for-ten-minutes _Richard_ has picked up on it… Come to think of it, that whole confrontation would have been a lot less ridiculous if he'd just done it as Thorin."

Graham raised an amused eyebrow at him. "And an overprotective Thorin wouldn't have scared you off me for good?"

Adam grinned cheekily. "Of course not. I've got Dwalin on my side, yeah?"

Graham broke into such a round of guffaws that several of the canteen's other patrons turned to look. When Richard arrived a few minutes later, Graham greeted him with a bear hug that made Richard go bright red and sent Adam into peals of laughter.

  
\---  


One evening nearly a month after their first kiss found Adam and Graham relaxing in Adam's trailer. Adam was on one end of the sofa watching television while Graham was sprawled over the rest of the sofa, script in hand. Adam laughed at something on the telly, and Graham glanced up only to have his breath snatched away.

The evening sunlight was streaming through the windows and hitting Adam's face just so, making his skin glow and his eyes glimmer as his head fell back in mirth. Graham traced the line of Adam's nose with his eyes, followed the creases that formed around Adam's mouth when he smiled, and felt a powerful sense of contentment warm his chest like the golden evening sun itself.

"My god, you're gorgeous."

Adam stilled, the smile dropping off his face. Graham stopped breathing altogether. Slowly, Adam turned his head toward Graham. The expression in his eyes was indecipherable but familiar.

"What's wrong?" Graham asked, his mouth on autopilot as his brain worked to piece together what was going on. Adam seemed to struggle for words for a moment, brows drawing together and tongue darting out to wet his lips.

"It's nothing."

Graham closed his script and sat up properly, still trying to draw an answer out of Adam's expression. "It's not nothing."

"Well, it's daft."

"Doesn't matter if it's daft," Graham replied more firmly, trying to end the evasive verbal sparring match before it got too far out of hand. "You were laughing two minutes ago, and now you're upset. What happened?"

"I just…" Adam frowned, looking in Graham's direction but avoiding his eyes. "I know you've never done before, but I feel like you're lying to me." Graham's mind reeled, and he kept his mouth shut. "That sounds terrible, doesn't it? It's just about that, though." Adam was beginning to babble somewhat, hands twisting in his lap. Graham was still trying to catch up. "I mean, I know I- just because it's usually expected doesn't mean you have to- have to say- have to compliment my appearance."

And that was it - the rest of the puzzle shifted and fit together. He'd said Adam was gorgeous just now, without even thinking about it, really. He'd said it back that first night, too; he'd mistaken Adam's reaction as being to the physical contact. But he hadn't been going too fast at all (or perhaps he had - Adam certainly hadn't objected to their slow pace), he'd simply paid him a compliment.

Graham slid across the sofa in one smooth movement and wrapped one arm around Adam's shoulders while his other hand was placed heavily on top of Adam's still fidgeting pair.

"Adam," he said with as much gentle gravity as he could muster to cover the anxiety in his voice, "I don't say those things because I'm _supposed to_." Adam's expression couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be wounded or hopeful. "I say them because you're _stunning_."

There was a slight trembling in Adam's hands and his face was still a bit crumpled, and Graham realized with a feeling like heartbreak that Adam couldn't quite bring himself to believe what Graham was saying.

"But I'm a twig," Adam objected. His tone rose in the middle of the statement, as if he was trying to inject a little lightheartedness but couldn't maintain it. "And much too gawky for someone so short. And my face is just goofy."

"You forgot the part where you're beautiful," Graham rumbled, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to Adam's forehead as if to make his point. When he pulled back, Adam's expression had changed just a bit; there was the slightest fissure in his uncertainty. A plan materialized in Graham's mind all at once. Adam's eyes widened when Graham grinned down at him. "Besides, if you're small and light, then I can do this."

Then in one swift movement, Graham slid his arms around Adam and stood, lifting him off the sofa and prompting a squeak of surprise. Graham was deeply grateful for all the dwarf training as he stood with Adam in his arms, heart pounding, working up the pluck to ask the next question.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready? _Oh_. Oh god, yes."

Graham didn't need any more prompting than that. Being careful to mind Adam's head and feet, he marched the length of the trailer to the small bedroom. A slightly cocky grin on his face, he used one elbow to nudge the dimmer halfway up and make up for the fading sunlight; Adam smiled and nuzzled into Graham's shoulder shyly.

Then he climbed halfway up onto the bed to set Adam down right in the center. Adam sat up as Graham settled next to him, and then Graham gathered Adam's face in his hands and kissed him soundly. Adam relaxed into the familiar touch easily, smiling against Graham's lips when Graham cradled the back of his head in one hand. When Adam lifted a hand to the back of Graham's neck, though, Graham caught him gently by the wrist.

When they pulled back out of the kiss, Graham looked Adam straight in the eyes as he drew the captured hand over and pressed his lips to the back of it. Adam's eyes widened and he coloured slightly. Graham smiled, flipped Adam's hand around, and broke eye contact as he unhurriedly kissed the tip of each finger. Adam made a small, bemused sound, like Graham was expressing a minor quirk. Graham smiled; Adam hadn't figured out what he was doing yet. He met Adam's gaze again, and whatever Adam saw caused his lips to part in wordless wonder.

"You really are quite attractive," Graham murmured. Adam's brow knit and his eyes were flooded with uncertainty. Then, without looking away, Graham dropped a kiss into Adam's palm. Adam's expression softened and he flushed deeply. Confidence in his plan thoroughly boosted, Graham gently slid the end of Adam's sleeve back.

"Beautiful," he whispered as he nuzzled against the thin skin at Adam's inner wrist. He kissed softly, then finally released the captured limb in order to smooth his hands up Adam's arms, over his shoulders, and down his chest until his fingers caught in the buttons of Adam's knitted cardigan. "May I…?" He was dead nervous, Graham realized as the words slipped from his lips. Trying to soothe this particular apprehension during their first time was definitely pushing his luck.

"Yeah." Adam's voice came out as barely more than a breath.

Graham set to it immediately but slowly, the knot of emotions in his stomach flaring hot when Adam's sweet brown eyes grew dark and he reached his hands up to work at the buttons of Graham's shirt. Adam had to stop halfway through to slide the cardigan from his arms. Then, setting his attentions to Adam's button-up, Graham was the one to have to stop midway in order to discard his own shirt. Adam gave an appreciative little hum as he ran tentative hands over Graham's chest and shoulders, eyes glued to the movement. Graham undid the last of the buttons on Adam's shirt and, making no move to cast off the garment, slipped his hands inside. 

Adam's breath hitched, and Graham went from half-hard to fully erect in the space of half a second. They'd done their share of petting in the last month, and Graham had had his hands on Adam's chest before, but Adam had never been this responsive. He slid a hand up through the patch of thin hair and hooked the edge of Adam's shirt, slipping it from his shoulder. Adam's hands gave a little shiver where they were exploring the contours of Graham's upper arms.

"God, Adam," Graham rumbled low. He snaked a hand around to Adam's back to haul him a bit closer (Adam squeaked in surprise), and then dipped his head to press open-mouthed kisses all along the soft curve of Adam's bare shoulder. That got Adam gripping at Graham's arms, then leaning his head to the side to give Graham better access and he reversed his course to kiss his way up the side of Adam's neck, pausing for an extra moment to dart the tip of his tongue across the little mole there. The sound Adam made was almost as much moan as it was giggle, and Graham's hand rubbed affectionate circles into the small of Adam's back quite of its own volition. He gave Adam's other shoulder the same treatment, then sat back.

Adam looked thoroughly debauched: hair mussed, skin pink, lips kiss-reddened, shirt pooled around his elbows, an unmistakable bulge in his untouched trousers.

"You are absolutely magnificent." It was a particularly honest moment, a strong and spontaneous compliment in the midst of his plan, but Adam didn't still in his arms. Adam's expression grew slightly cautious, but it was mixed with pronounced shyness and a dawning amazement.

Adam's slight pinkness escalated into a deep flush as Graham gently tipped him over onto his back on the bed. When Graham proceeded to straddle him on hands and knees, Adam squirmed and let out a shuddering breath.

"Graham, I've wanted this so much." His urgent tone had a quaver to it that seemed to nearly manifest as a glottal stutter, and he appeared to blush even darker just from saying it aloud. The words also went straight to Graham's cock, the untouched organ giving a couple of insistent throbs from where it was still trapped behind jeans and pants.

"Me too," Graham replied, then swiftly kissed Adam's breath away before moving on to mouth along his collarbone. Adam trembled beneath him.

When he moved down to lay a soft, warm kiss on one puckered nipple, Adam let out a breathless squeak and arched into his touch. A dozen endearments tumbled through Graham's mind, but he didn't voice any of them, preferring instead to nip gently at the hard nub beneath his lips. The responding cry was sharp, and louder than Graham would have expected from Adam. He glanced up, curious about Adam's expression, but Adam had his head thrown to the side and Graham couldn't see his face. Turning back to the task at hand, Graham laved his tongue over Adam's nipple a few times, then moved across to give the previously neglected side the same treatment.

Adam shifted oddly just as Graham was beginning to draw southward, and Graham froze instantly. His mind spun at lightning speed, much faster than he could draw back and check to make sure everything was all right. He had a great number of terrible scenarios buzzing in his brain and an apology waiting just behind his lips before his eyes could finally register… Adam struggling to free one arm from his shirt, which was still bunched up around his elbows and now trapped beneath his back besides.

"Oh, sorry. I just-"

Graham chuckled deeply and helped draw Adam back upright. Adam smiled at him with sheepish gratitude as he worked to disentangle himself from the errant garment. In the meantime, Graham reached for his own belt.

"Ah, wait!" Adam turned scarlet when Graham looked back up at him. "I mean, _I'd_ like to, if it's all right." Graham removed his hands from his waist and sat back, not quite trusting his voice in that moment and knowing that his smile was entirely too smitten as he watched Adam finally manage to divest himself of his shirt. Adam tossed it at the trailer's wall with a small grunt and mildly vexed expression, then looked back at Graham. He smiled nervously, his eyes dropped to Graham's belt, then darted back up to his face again.

"You can always change you mind, you know," Graham murmured reassuringly.

Adam's nervousness was dampened by surprise. "No, I want to," he objected. "I'm just a little-" he cut off and made a little fanning gesture that Graham thought he would have been more likely to associate with emotional overwhelm than anything he'd seen from Adam thus far, but he tried not to over-think it and instead wrapped a hand around the back of Adam's neck and pulled him in.

The kiss was hot and insistent, Adam's tongue requesting entrance even before his hands came up to grip Graham's shoulders. Their tongues sliding together, Adam smoothed his hands down Graham's chest. He rolled Graham's nipples once - almost playfully - as he went, but Graham knew that Adam had discovered weeks ago that Graham didn't have as much sensitivity there as he himself did. When his hands brushed over Graham's ticklish stomach, though, Graham had to break away from the kiss to give a strangled laugh.

Adam grinned at him, eyes sparkling as his hands finally landed on Graham's belt. He paused, not looking away from Graham's face, for just a few moments. Then he slipped his right hand down and cupped Graham through his jeans. The contact (after months of longing, another month of waiting, and fifteen minutes of neglect while having Adam in bed) was like a lightning strike to Graham's entire system, and he sucked in a harsh breath. Adam's pupils had blown wide - whether from his own arousal or Graham's reaction or both Graham didn't know.

Then he began to move his hand, little firm circles with his palm, and Graham groaned, his head falling forward. The sensation was almost as amazing as the knowledge that it was Adam who was causing it. When Adam leaned forward to take one of Graham's earlobes between his teeth, Graham couldn't help but to buck against his warm hand.

"Fuck, Ads," he rumbled, voice more ragged than he'd thought it would be. 

Adam gasped beside his ear and drew back, Graham catching a flash of fervent brown eyes before Adam's hand lifted away and his attention focused on Graham's belt. The belt was made short work of; Graham managed to get a grip on his wits in order to return the favour as Adam began on the fastenings of his jeans. As soon as Adam's fly was unzipped, Graham found Adam's gaze and slipped a finger in to run Adam's full length, right through the fabric of his pants. Adam's breath hitched and then completely failed him, his hands fisting in the waistband of Graham's jeans as he gasped and trembled.

Adam met Graham's eyes again, hands going to his own trousers, and it was an unspoken agreement that spurred them both to quickly strip off their trousers and pants. Adam paused as Graham's cock was laid bare, momentarily transfixed. Graham felt the same way when Adam slipped his pants off. His prick was red and fully erect, and built rather like the rest of Adam - a little bit long, a little bit thin.

Fully naked but for his glasses, Adam glanced at Graham, turned pink, and - seemingly at a loss (perhaps he really was feeling a bit overwhelmed) - flopped back down on the bedspread as he'd been before. Graham, on the other hand, knew exactly what he wanted to do. He moved to kneel between Adam's slightly spread legs, nudging them apart a bit more to make room. Then he ran his hands over Adam's skinny hips, dipping down to tease at the edges of buttocks before sliding down thin legs.

The tension melted out of Adam's body and he sank a bit deeper into the bed, fixing Graham with an appreciative smile. Graham returned the smile and then bent down. He kissed one hip, passed by Adam's prick with no more attention than blowing a quick stream of air at it (Adam giggled), then kissed the other hip. Then he dipped even lower, kissing a trail up the inside of Adam's thigh while mirroring his motions on the other thigh with one hand. When he reached the top he used his hand to knead at the sensitive skin where leg met groin (he was rewarded with a groan), and meanwhile pulled back and took a moment to look down at Adam.

The younger man was spread out and exposed on the bed, flushed clear down his chest, trembling slightly at Graham's teasing touch.

" _So_ gorgeous," Graham murmured.

Adam made a sound then - a strange, half-strangled, broken sound halfway between a whimper and a laugh. Graham's hand stilled, but then Adam broke into a dazzling, dazed grin.

"You really mean that," he said, sounding just to one side of choked up. "My god, Graham."

Their eyes met and Graham was on him instantly, pressing kisses to Adam's lips and cheeks and nose. Adam's arms wound around Graham's neck and back and held him tight, their chests brushing together even as Graham kept himself suspended above the smaller man. They spent long moments devouring each others' mouths hungrily before Graham felt his prick brush against Adam's (Graham twitched and Adam moaned into his mouth in probably as low of a register as he was capable) and he remembered a certain part of Adam's body he hadn't kissed yet.

He drew back slowly, dropping kisses onto Adam's face and neck and chest every few moments. Graham settled back between Adam's legs, eyes locking onto where his target lay heavily against Adam's stomach. He didn't even realize he was wetting his lips until Adam made a squeaking sound as he saw what Graham was intending to do, face flaming red.

The first contact was intentionally slow and gentle, a simple and slightly wet press of lips to the head. Adam's breathing was audibly ragged, and when Graham glanced up he saw hands clutched tightly in the bedspread. Graham had a bit of wetness on his lips when he pulled away, and he darted his tongue out to find the bitter salt of pre-come.

Then, with little warning, he took the whole head into his mouth. Adam cried out as Graham slid his tongue over the slit, and the small part of Graham's brain not occupied with Adam's taste and smell and the feel of him in his mouth took note that Adam was apparently - surprisingly - rather loud in bed. Graham applied a little suction and Adam's hips bucked. Graham positioned a strong, steadying hand to keep him more or less in place.

Adam groaned and mewled as Graham kissed down the underside of his cock, then licked back up to the tip. He let out a cry that broke into a squeak when Graham wrapped one hand around the base of his prick and swallowed the rest. He begged disjointedly when Graham moved the hand from his hip to gently cup his bollocks and press a fingertip against his perineum. Then his fingertips were grasping ineffectually at Graham's shoulders and he was babbling Graham's name repeatedly, his voice wrecked. Graham hummed around Adam's length and Adam gasped.

"Graham, I'm going to- Oh my god- Come up here?"

Graham released Adam's prick with a soft pop, then crawled back up to hover over Adam's whole body on knees and elbows. Adam's pupils were blown all the way out and his thin arms managed to be both shaky and strong as he pulled Graham in for a desperate open-mouthed kiss.

"Just- like this. _Please_ ," Adam gasped out when they parted for a moment. Graham kissed at the corner of his mouth and lined up their hips. His gentle reassurance was drowned out when he ground down and a cry ripped from Adam's throat.

Christ, his ears were ringing a bit, but the sound was somehow undeniably erotic from up close. He ground down again, setting up as much of a rhythm as the waves of pleasure washing over his body would allow. His own prick - neglected so often and for so long that evening - was responding vigorously to the friction of Adam's pulsing, hot, spit-slick erection. Adam attempted to match his pattern, but the little bucking twitches he was being wracked by made it difficult. He let out another cry, and Graham's head dropped to Adam's shoulder as his cock gave a particularly intense throb.

He could taste the sweat on Adam's skin where his mouth brushed past, and he got the strong urge to bite down. They were both too far gone, though, the last rational part of his mind pointed out. He'd just have to remember to ask about biting for the next time. It seemed increasingly likely that there would be a next time, too. The realization spurred Graham to grind down with heightened fervor, and Adam's volume increased accordingly.

Graham could tell when Adam was close, because his trembling escalated noticeably and his grip on Graham's shoulders grew just tight enough that Graham wondered if it would bruise. Graham ground down once more, not letting up, and Adam came with a shout, sticky release splattering between their stomachs.

Graham laid gentle, wet kisses along Adam's shoulder as the younger man's convulsions slowed. He hitched his hips up, away from Adam's doubtlessly over-sensitized prick, only just barely caring how utterly ridiculous he must have looked. He wrapped a hand around his own aching cock with a relieved groan. Three strokes later and long, thin fingers were shooing his hand away. Adam's hand was still shaking slightly from his orgasm, which added a truly amazing dimension to the sensation as he began to stroke.

"Faster," Graham hissed against Adam's shoulder. "I'm-" Graham choked on the word as Adam twisted his hand a bit and he saw stars. "Almost," he managed to get out. At the top of his next stroke, Adam ran the pad of his thumb in a circle around Graham's tip, and that was what pushed him over the edge. "Adam," he gasped out as his hips bucked helplessly and he came, spurting over Adam's hand and stomach.

Soon all they were left with was the sound of their own breathing, and Graham came back to himself enough to roll gracelessly off to the side. Adam followed, burrowing into Graham's chest with a contented sigh.

Eventually the stickiness of their spending and the increasing chill of Adam's back was enough to make Graham drag himself up. Adam sat as well, eyelids heavy and legs drawn to the side in a pose that would probably have been coquettish at almost any other moment. Graham grabbed his own shirt from where it had ended up draped on the corner of the bed and wrapped the too-large garment around Adam's shoulders, then leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"I'll be right back," he assured, then stood from the bed.

Graham drank from the faucet in the bathroom before quickly cleaning himself up and wetting a washcloth to take back, then nipped into the kitchenette to grab a glass of water.

When Graham returned to the tiny bedroom, the sight of a smiling, dishevelled Adam in his overlarge shirt was enough to make his spent cock give a feeble twitch. Adam accepted the water with a grateful smile when Graham slid back onto the bed. He slowly drained half the glass, then traded for the washcloth. Once he was cleaned up to his own satisfaction and the glass had been deposited on the little bedside table, Adam slumped against Graham's chest.

"Tired?"

"No, I'm fi-" a yawn cut Adam off in the middle of the word, and he and Graham both laughed softly. "A little," he admitted.

"Let's have a kip, then," Graham suggested, the arm he wasn't using to keep Adam steady against his chest already seeking the edge of the bedcovers. "And after, we can grab some take-away." Adam hummed approvingly as he slipped between the sheets and twisted to place his glasses next to the water glass.

"That sounds amazing. I'm _famished_. I wonder if there's any place around here that does all-day breakfast?"

Graham chuckled as he slid down beside Adam and gathered him into his arms. "You want the morning after to come so fast, eh?"

Adam snorted. "It has to be morning to be the morning after," he replied sensibly, words a bit muffled and eyes already shut. "I just really want pancakes for some reason."

Feeling like he was holding a piece of his heart in his arms, Graham nuzzled into Adam's hair as the smaller man drifted off to sleep.

  
\---  


One afternoon nearly a week later found the Company on location, milling about in costume as the camera crew sorted out a problem. Graham had been talking with Jed until William called him away. They'd been standing near a large patch of tiny wildflowers, and Graham, feeling particularly sentimental for some reason, bent down and plucked one.

Adam, when Graham approached, was on his side in the grass, reading a paperback he'd swiped from Dean, curled rather cutely around Ori's round belly, Aidan fast asleep against his back with arms tight around Adam's chest. Graham sat at his head, facing him, and Adam gave him a sweet, upside-down smile. Graham smiled back, using the flower to tickle Adam's cheek where he knew the prosthetics didn't reach. 

Adam giggled and swiped at his hand, but then his whole face lit up when Graham twisted his wrist around and presented the little flower to him with a whisper of, "For you, beautiful."

Adam twirled the flower in his fingers a few times, holding it up to look at it against the sky. Then he carefully placed it on top of his book to the side and, ignoring Aidan's sleepy protest and James' catcall, twisted around and pushed himself up to kiss Graham on the lips.

Graham kissed back, and in that moment was not sure that it was possible to be any happier.

  
~End~  


**Author's Note:**

> True stories about the writing of this fic:
> 
> 1) It took about a week to write that sex scene. Three whole days were spent trying to get them to the point where they would take off their damn pants! Also, part of it was written while at the bar with my friends. (Not that they know I was writing _porn_ in that little notebook.)  
>  2) Around 80% of this was written in various overnight stints. Hopefully it doesn't show too much!  
> 3) Originally, Richard and Lee were going to have their own background arc. The story kind of changed a lot between the original draft and the final draft, though, and it got left behind a bit. Ah, well. ~~Guess I'll just have to do a proper Rich/Lee at some point, Y/Y?~~


End file.
